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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s “Stop Telling Women to Smile” poster in the Krog Street Tunnel in Atlanta was almost immediately defaced with a smile and the words “Force It.”

This weekend when I was running in my neighborhood in Atlanta, I was excited to come across one of artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh‘s “Stop Telling Women to Smile” posters freshly plastered on the side of the Krog Street Tunnel. Fazlalizadeh’s anti-street harassment public art project, which we’ve coveredbefore, started in Brooklyn, has spread to several major American cities, and just yesterday graced the pages of The New York Times.

As the Times feature notes, the particular poster I snapped a photo of on Saturday (on left) had been defaced by Sunday night with a smile spray-painted over Fazlalizadeh’s face and the words “Force It” scrawled underneath. I went back to check it out today and found the defacement now seems to have been defaced (as seen in the photo to the right). As Fazlalizadeh says, “Visual art, especially, is right in your face.” And public art, especially, gives you a chance to see the reactions it sparks — both good and bad.

Atlanta, GA

Maya Dusenbery is an Executive Director in charge of Editorial at Feministing. Maya has previously worked at NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the National Institute for Reproductive Health and was a fellow at Mother Jones magazine. She graduated with a B.A. from Carleton College in 2008. A Minnesota native, she currently lives, writes, edits, and bakes bread in Atlanta, Georgia.

Maya Dusenbery is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Editorial.

I wish I still had that picture on my Instagram of the guy at a Rutgers University football game with a T-shirt that said “There’s no drunk without RU.” Clever, right?

And to be honest, he’s right. Rutgers is known for two things: research and parties. You want to go there for the academics, but the party scene is the bonus! And the best part is, there are options. Under 21? Dorm parties. Apartment parties. Student center parties. Greek parties. 21 and up? All the above plus the plethora of bars right in your back yard. Please, don’t take my sarcasm for hater-ation. I love to party!

The sarcasm is stemming from ...

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Community site.

I wish I still had that picture on my Instagram of the guy at a Rutgers University football game with a T-shirt that said “There’s no drunk without ...

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Where to begin? First, let’s note that this man starts out apparently believing the interview is about best practices for catcalling, and he shares some of his, which include clicking noises and whistling. The interviewer then asks, “How would you call a dog?” to which the man responds by whistling and adding, “Same way.”

This does ...

The next time you find yourself in conversation with someone who simply can not wrap their mind around why street harassment is a problem, and your words are failing to convince them that yelling at women on ...

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My idea for a street sign isn’t new. In the late 1980s, artist Ilona Granet ...

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Community site.

As the recipient of hundreds of instances of gender-based street harassment — ranging from verbal to physical — I have often wondered why we don’t ...